On Earth Day, progressive Democrat Maxwell Frost (Fla.) is calling former President Trump a “threat to the planet.”
In a statement that was first shared with The Hill, Frost, who is on the Biden campaign’s National Advisory Board, cited the former president’s previous comments calling climate change a hoax.
“Donald Trump doesn’t believe in the threat of climate change, which makes Donald a threat to our planet and every future generation,” Frost said.
“He will sell out the American people to oil barons who want to pollute our air and take our country backwards — in exchange for campaign donations,” he added.
Trump recently held a fundraising dinner with oil executives and criticized wind energy, according to The Washington Post.
Biden and his allies have sought to highlight the stark differences between the two candidates on the issue of climate change, as Trump largely favors the expansion of planet-warming fossil fuels and limiting climate and environmental regulations while Biden has backed renewables and other climate-friendly policies.
Climate is also an area of relative agreement between the Democratic Party’s mainstream and progressive wings, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) appearing with Biden on Monday for Earth Day, as the party experiences internal tensions in other areas, such as the war in Gaza. Though even this issue is not totally without friction, as progressives have criticized certain Biden moves including the 2023 approval of the Willow Project, which would allow for oil drilling in Alaska for about 30 years.
Frost, in his statement, praised Biden for “enacting, delivering, and leading the most ambitious climate, clean energy, and environmental justice agenda in history.”
Alex Gangitano contributed.